Epistulae Pilati et Theodori
Standard abbreviation: Ep. Pil. Theo.
Other titles: none
Clavis numbers: ECCA 587
Category: Pilate Cycle
Related literature: Epistles of Pilate and Herod
Compiled by Tony Burke, York University ([email protected]).
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “The Epistles of Pilate and Theodore.” Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/epistles-of-pilate-and-theodore/.
Created April 2019. Current as of April 2023.
1. SUMMARY
A brief exchange between Pilate and a certain Theodore appears appended to the Syriac translation of the Epistles of Pilate and Herod. The origin of the exchange is unknown—did the translator obtain it from another, now unavailable source? Or did they create it themselves? The two letters are joined by other additions to the translation: a testimony about Mary and Joseph said to come from the third discourse of a certain Justin, and the account of the death of Agrippa II by Josephus (derived from Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 2.10). Since Ep. Pil. Theo. are so brief, they are provided here in full (translation by Tony Burke based on the edition by Rahmani):
The letter which Theodore wrote to Pilate. Theodore thereupon wrote to the Prefect Pilate, “Who was the man against whom there was a complaint before you so that he was crucified by the children of Jerusalem? If they were seeking this justly for this (man), why did you not complete their just demand? And if they were not seeking it justly for this (man), why did you transgress the law and command that which departs from justice?” Pilate responded to him, “Because he had performed signs, I did not wish to crucify him. And because they accused him of calling himself king, I crucified him.”
Named Historical Figures and Characters: Pontius Pilate, Theodore.
Geographical Locations: Jerusalem.
2. RESOURCES
2.1 Web Sites and Other Online Resources
Alcock, Anthony. “Texts relating to the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.” academia.edu (English translation of Rahmani’s Syriac edition).
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Syriac
A Charfeh, Syrian-Catholic Patriarchate, Fonds. Patr. 79 (Sony 256), fol. 11r (1901 from a 14th cent. manuscript)
B Charfeh, Syrian-Catholic Patriarchate, Fonds. Patr. 87 (Sony 261), fols. 87r (1907 from an 8th cent. manuscript)
C Charfeh, Syrian-Catholic Patriarchate, Fonds. Patr. 86 (Sony 224), pp. 148 (ca. 1908 from a manuscript dated 1609) ~ Epistle of Theodore to Pilate only
H Cambridge (Mass.), Harvard Houghton Library, Syr. 99, fol. 96v (1899)
L London, British Library, Add. 14609, fol. 122r (6th/7th cent.)
M Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana Syr. 4, fol. 53v (1895)
Mardin, Dayr al-Zaʿfarān, 203, fol. 82v (20th cent.)
Midyat, Dayro d-Mor Gabriel, 21, p. 80 (1971)
Midyat, Mar Barṣawmo Library, 16, p. 142 (1972)
Rahmani, Ignatius E., ed. Studia Syriaca, seu collectio documentorum hactenus ineditorum ex codicibus Syriacis: Apocryphi hypomnemata Domini Nostri, seu, Acta Pilati. 5 vols. Charfeh: Charfeh Patriarchal Seminary, 1908 (text from Fonds. Patr. 79 vol. 2:19; Latin translation vol. 2:37).
Wright, William. Contributions to the Apocryphal Literature of the New Testament. London: Williams & Norgate, 1865 (edition of the Epistles of Pilate and Herod based on London, BL Add. 14609, pp. 19–24, with English translation, pp. 12–17).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 English
Wright, William. Contributions to the Apocryphal Literature of the New Testament. London: Williams & Norgate, 1865 (edition of the Epistles of Pilate and Herod based on London, BL Add. 14609, pp. 19–24, with English translation, pp. 12–17).
3.3 General Works
Burke, Tony, trans. “Epistles of Longinus, Augustus, Ursinus, and Patrophilus.” Pages 535–48 in vol. 3 of New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Edited by Tony Burke with Brent Landau. 3 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016–2023 (pp. 541–42).
Desreumaux, Alain J. “De quelques pièces du dossier syriaque sur Pilate: De la correspondance byzantine à la correspondance médiévale.” Pages 619–34 in Gnose et manichéisme: Entre les oasis d’Égypte et la Route de la Soie: Hommage à Jean-Daniel Dubois. Bibliothèque de l’École des Hautes Etudes, Sciences Religieuses 176. Edited by Anna Van den Kerchove and Luciana Gabriela Soares Santoprete. Turnhout: Brepols, 2016 (edition, pp. 629–32, and French translation, pp. 632–34, based on ABCHLMS).
Zeegers-Vanders Vorst, Nicole. “Quatre pièces apocryphes néotestamentaires en version syriaque.” Pages 65–77 in IIIo Symposium Syriacum, 1980: Les contacts du monde syriaque avec les autres cultures (Goslar 7–11 Septembre 1980). Edited by René Lavenant. Rome: Pontificium Institutum Studiorum Orientalium, 1983.